Blood flows red
by Kokotheevilone
Summary: What if Fergus hadn't listened to Merida? What if he had killed Elinor? What will happen when a Queen's blood is spilt?


Disclaimer: Nah, I don't own anything. I have $0.21 and a ball of lint, though.

* * *

"_No, _dad! Please, don't hurt the bear! _It's MUM!_" screamed Merida frantically, tugging as hard as she could on her father's arm. Fergus nodded at the three Lords standing to the side, and a tall, dark man from Lord Dingwall's entourage stepped forward and grasped her tightly.

She struggled in terror as the King stalked toward her mother, grasping the sword he held tightly.

"Now, bear, you will die." Fergus growled. The mangy beast had _killed _his Elinor. It would pay for that with its' life. Thinking of Elinor brought tears to his eyes, but he ignored them and continued forwards. The men holding the abomination down tightened their grips.

Raising the sword above his head, he prepared for the kill. He looked into the monster's eyes, searching–and half-hoping–for a glimpse of regret. The bear stared fearfully at him, then turned away with a frantic grunt. It attempted to get up, but the ropes held firm. It would not escape its fate, death.

Fergus thrust the sword into the bear's neck. It screamed in agony, as did his daughter. He resolutely ignored her and pulled the sword out of the bear. The beast groaned as he thrust the sharp, unyielding weapon into it's heart. _For Elinor, _he thought furiously, a red haze descending upon his mind.

* * *

Merida watched in horror and anguish as her father savagely tore her mother's body apart. Her lips would not part and her tongue could not move. She wanted to scream so, so badly, but her body was frozen in shock.

Her eyes could not and would not turn away from the terrible scene happening before her. Her father was killing his own wife. His _Queen, _his Elinor.

Tears flowed freely as she sobbed in distress.

* * *

Keir MacGuffin looked on in revulsion as King Fergus hacked at the bear's dying body. He couldn't decide if his revulsion was focused on the King or the beast at his feet. Either way, the carnage they were watching was indescribably horrible.

He looked over to his left and saw Princess Merida crying, her eyes focused on her father and the monster. He didn't quite understand; why would she cry for the very being that had murdered her mother, Queen Elinor? Whatever the reason for her sorrow, Keir was not so lacking of chivalry that he would let a young woman cry alone.

He moved over to the Princess' side and shyly, questioningly, took her hand. Her eyes flashed over to him. He almost backed away when he saw the torment in her eyes, but held firm. Then, surprisingly, she threw herself at him and clutched at his shirt, her tears creating a wet spot on the rough fabric.

He awkwardly patted her back. Leith Macintosh looked over and saw the young princess attached to Keir's front. Leith then nodded to himself, almost imperceptibly. Keir didn't know what he was planning, but he hoped it wasn't another prank. It wasn't the right time to make jokes.

* * *

Leith slid his eyes over to Keir, wondering if he was indeed watching the King slaughter the bear. He recognized the red bush of hair attached to Keir's chest and raised an eyebrow. His mind went to the young Princes Hubert, Hamish, and Harris. Where were they, anyway?

Something black flitted around in the corner of his eye. He turned quickly to the left, drawing his knife and holding it out defensively in one smooth motion. He scanned the area, looking for the smidge of black that had caught his sight. His gaze landed on three little bear cubs hiding behind one of the Great Stones. Intrigued, he walked in their direction. They appeared to be the large bear's children.

He shuddered, vividly reminded of the mother bear's bloody fate. Bear or not, no child deserved to watch their mother die. He quickly and quietly ushered the cubs back behind the Great Stone, hoping that they would not see the gory scene behind him.

* * *

As the sun's rays shone over the glistening red blood on the grass, Merida cried. She turned around, wanting to see her mother one last time and yet afraid of what she would find.

Her father stood tall over the bloody, mutilated corpse of her mother. It was horrifying. Then a thought flickered into being at the edge of her mind; _what if the spell reverted once the victim was dead? _

Her worst dream came true at that moment. Elinor's bear form shone golden, and one could see the large, unwieldy arms and legs of _Ursus _reforming into the smooth, slender limbs of a woman. The witch's spell had broken.

The large group gasped as one. Fergus fell to his knees in front of his wife's mangled carcass. Merida saw one large tear roll down his cheek.

* * *

Fergus watched disbelievingly as the body of the monster transformed into Elinor. He didn't understand; hadn't the bear killed Elinor? He thought frantically, starting with the discovery of the bear. He had not found any evidence of Elinor's death, only a torn dress of hers.

And Merida had been so protective of the bear. At the time, he had thought it was only shock and hysteria making her act so strangely, but now he realized that she had been trying to tell him something: Elinor _was _the bear. He had _murdered _the bear. He had _killed _his Queen, his _Elinor. _His heart shattered.

* * *

Bet that made y'all cry. I certainly cried when I wrote it. Fergus/Elinor is my OTP for the Brave fandom, and it damn near broke my heart to write this. An evil plotbunny just got to me and I _had _to write it down.

It all started when I rewatched Brave. I thought about the plot. Maybe if Merida hadn't stopped Fergus, he would have killed bear!Elinor. And what if a witch's spell were to revert after the spell's victim were dead? That would lead to some interesting horror.

This story is based on the assumption that Mor'du did not make an appearance in the final scenes of the movie. I know he did, but for the sake of this fic, let's just say Mor'du didn't come.

Also, I didn't want to call Young MacGuffin and Young Macintosh 'young MacGuffin' and 'young Macintosh' in this fic, so I made up names for them. MacGuffin the Younger is called Keir, and Macintosh the Younger is Leith. I left out Wee Dingwall because I couldn't figure our where to fit him in.

Reviews make me happy! What did you think of this fic? Was it not gory enough for you? Too gory for you? Do you think I tortured Elinor, Fergus, and Merida enough? Did you cry? What do you think of Keir and Leith? Do you ship Keir/Merida? SPEAK TO ME, READERS!


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